I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

"There are four steps to choosing a good pair of beans: look, touch, smell, and soak..."

Before they started tasting the beans, Guo Pinyan stood next to Shen Kang and explained the upcoming knowledge points to him in a very engaging way, almost like a master.

Normally, Guo Pinyan always gets bullied when dealing with that bastard Lao Shen. Now that he's finally encountered a situation where Shen Kang doesn't understand but he does, he's naturally going to show off his skills.

"Look, first look at the color. Dark beans may be over-roasted, while light beans may be under-roasted. Then look at the shape for cracks, insect damage, or deformation..."

Shen Kang was quite interested in this knowledge and listened with great interest.

He Qiuzhu, who had been sticking to his side, secretly glanced at him at this moment.

Seeing that Shen Kang was focused on listening to Guo Pinyan and hadn't noticed them, she quietly reached out and secretly picked a good one from the pile of sample beans in front of her, put it in her mouth, and started biting into it.

After only a couple of bites, her little face scrunched up in a grimace.

"What does it taste like?"

A voice came from the side; it was Shen Kang's voice.

She turned her head again and saw Shen Kang looking at her speechlessly.

Without waiting for He Qiuzhu's reply, Shen Kang started nagging: "I've noticed that you sometimes act like a child, wanting to try everything that looks good. How childish."

With something in her mouth, He Qiuzhu mumbled a reply, "You're chasing a dog too? You're so childish."

"..."

Shen Kang asked, "How did you know?"

He Qiuzhu's voice was still muffled and soft, "I saw it during the summer vacation."

Did I chase a dog in front of her during summer vacation?

Shen Kang tried to recall, but couldn't, while He Qiuzhu remembered perfectly. Hey, this kid has a really good memory.

He then stopped dwelling on it and corrected He Qiuzhu's statement: "That wasn't naivety, it was just that I had a childlike heart."

As he spoke, he reached out and pinched He Qiuzhu's mouth, shaping it into a form. Then he leaned in and carefully examined her teeth.

"The beans are hard, and you just gnawed on them raw like that, you're really something... Your teeth are fine, they're actually quite strong. Don't gnaw on them raw next time, or you'll break your front tooth and have nowhere to cry..."

He Qiuzhu just stood there dumbfounded, letting Shen Kang pinch her mouth. Her beautiful eyes just stared blankly at Shen Kang's face, which was so close to hers.

I think I'm a little dazed by Shen Kang's handsomeness.

He Qiuzhu thought to herself, feeling dizzy.

Guo Pinyan watched from the side, grimacing in discomfort. "No, Lao Shen, I was talking about serious business and coffee with you, and you're feeding me dog food?"

Liu Jing watched from the sidelines, quite happy, experiencing the thrill of shipping a couple—sometimes watching others date is more interesting than dating yourself.

Zhao Ruyuan watched from a distance, feeling somewhat envious.

She's dated several wealthy boyfriends, including Zong Shijie, making it three in total. Those boyfriends treated her well, taking her out for fancy meals, traveling with her, buying her bags, cosmetics…

But it lacks the feeling of being truly in love.

The relationship between her and her boyfriends seemed more like a mutually beneficial one: they spent money on her, she accompanied them to various gatherings with friends, and fulfilled their various needs.

But that seems to be all.

She was in pain during her period, but her boyfriends didn't care about her or comfort her. They would just buy her some gifts after they found out she had her period, and then tell her they were busy and to take good care of herself.

She was sick, so they would take her to the hospital, arrange a private room for her, and then after sitting for a while, they would receive a phone call saying that something had come up at home and they had to leave, leaving her alone in the hospital room...

Of course, there were also those who were willing to care about her and comfort her.

However, Zhao Ruyuan looked down on those ordinary college students—those male college students had to squeeze onto buses to go to the city, and their birthday gifts wouldn't even cost more than a thousand yuan, which really didn't interest her.

Zhao Ruyuan lives in this kind of situation.

So now when she sees Shen Kang and He Qiuzhu, she is quite envious, feeling that these two who call each other "brother" and "sister" are much sweeter than those of them who call each other "baby".

Perhaps moved by the scene, Zhao Ruyuan walked over to Zong Shijie, intending to say something, when she happened to see a message from Meng Chengjiao on Zong Shijie's phone. She glanced at it and got a general idea of ​​what it was.

Zong Shijie replied with "I understand," and as she stared into the crowd, she lowered her voice, "Meng Chengjiao doesn't seem to care much?"

Zong Shijie chuckled softly, his voice low, "One more or one less makes no difference, that's roughly the idea."

There was a hint of self-satisfaction in his words.

He certainly has reason to be proud, after all, there are quite a few people who want to enter their circle. For example, Guo Pinyan had to put in a lot of effort to be accepted into this circle.

Of course, judging from the current situation, Shen Kang's background meets the requirements, so he still has a good chance of entering their circle.

Zhao Ruyuan fell silent, thinking to herself that Shen Kang might not necessarily appear in their circle, and He Qiuzhu might not appear in this circle either.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ruyuan felt a little more relaxed: if a He Qiuzhu really appeared in the industry, she felt that the competitive pressure would be quite great.

While the two were preoccupied with their own thoughts, the bean-tasting session in the crowd hadn't even started yet.

After checking He Qiuzhu's dental health, Shen Kang was then pulled aside by Guo Pinyan to learn more about bean-related knowledge.

He Qiuzhu also came to her senses from her dazed state at this time.

After calming her thoughts, she looked at Shen Kang, and thinking about what had just happened, her clever little brain suddenly had an idea.

Without making a sound, she quietly reached out and secretly picked up a bean from the sample beans and put it in her mouth.

Sure enough, it was as if Shen Kang had a "special radar for He Qiuzhu" installed on him; he immediately noticed her and looked over.

He Qiuzhu kept her mouth shut, looking at him with bright, sparkling eyes, filled with joy and anticipation.

Sure enough, just like before, Shen Kang sighed and muttered "So childish," but still reached out, pinched her mouth into shape, and leaned in close.

He Qiuzhu wanted to get a closer look this time, so she widened her eyes and strengthened her resolve. But when Shen Kang's face came closer, she was still a little overwhelmed by his handsomeness, feeling dizzy.

Just then, the commotion that had been coming from outside the warehouse had entered the warehouse and arrived at the door of this room.

Hearing the noise, Shen Kang subconsciously turned his head and saw a group of people wearing gray overalls appear at the door of the room.

The first one was his old acquaintance, the great General Zhou.

However, unlike her usual attire, Zhou Man was wearing a gray jumpsuit, yet she still looked very beautiful and stood out among the crowd.

Behind Zhou Man was another acquaintance of Shen Kang, Ding Ling. She was also wearing gray overalls and was accompanying her.

As for the others, there were both men and women, most of them around forty years old.

Shen Kang didn't recognize any of these people, but he could tell from their demeanor that they weren't working people, but rather office workers.

Chen Liquan, who was with them, was taken aback when he saw the group of people, and then quickly greeted them, "President Zhou."

Zhou Man remained calm and nodded after hearing the greeting. Her gaze quickly found its target, landing on Shen Kang and He Qiuzhu. She then saw Shen Kang pinching He Qiuzhu's mouth with one hand while turning his head to look at them.

He Qiuzhu looked a little dizzy, as if she had been squeezed by Shen Kang and was suffocating.

This made Zhou Man lose her composure.

"Shen Kang!"

With a shout, Zhou Man quickly walked over.

Without Zhou Man even having to lift a finger, Shen Kang consciously released his grip on He Qiuzhu's hand, calmly nodding to Zhou Man, "President Zhou, what a coincidence?"

Zhou Man walked over, stepped forward, and shielded He Qiuzhu behind her, looking somewhat annoyed. "Why are your hands always busy? You're always messing with her!"

Shen Kang said, feeling wronged, "No, she insisted on stealing coffee beans and eating them raw. These things are so hard! I wonder if she damaged her teeth."

Zhou Man glanced back at He Qiuzhu, seemingly wanting to verify.

As soon as Shen Kang's face was away, He Qiuzhu's intelligence returned to her mind, and she regained her senses.

Seeing Zhou Man suddenly appear made He Qiuzhu's eyes sparkle, clearly showing her surprise and joy.

When she saw Zhou Man looking over, she subconsciously moved closer, as if she wanted to hug and cuddle. She even quietly reached up and grabbed the hem of Zhou Man's work clothes.

It's like a baby bird seeing its mother return to the nest and clinging to her.

Zhou Man's heart melted at the sight.

Then she turned back to Shen Kang and said, "She's so scared of you that she doesn't dare to say a word."

"..."

Shen Kang looked at Zhou Man, speechless, and could only give her a thumbs up silently—you're awesome.

Seeing Shen Kang's expression, Zhou Man chuckled, finding it amusing to tease a child.

The room was completely silent except for the voices of the family of three.

Among the newly arrived group, Lu Hongde, the factory manager of Jule Foods, a slightly overweight middle-aged man, was staring intently at the ground, as if a spectacular ant war was taking place on the ground—of course, the warehouse was very clean, without a single ant.

It seems that President Zhou's sudden visit today was not for the sake of the visit itself.

As Lü Hongde looked at the floor, he thought about it and also deeply engraved the images of the boy named Shen Kang and the stunningly beautiful girl in his mind.

But he remembered, wasn't President Zhou unmarried? When did he have two such grown children? Or are they some kind of relatives?

Even if they are relatives, judging from this situation, these relatives are extremely close...

The staff members around Lü Hongde remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

At the edge of Shen Kang's group, Zong Shijie, who had been smiling faintly just moments before, was now shocked by the scene before him, his mind racing.

He knew this woman whom Shen Kang called "President Zhou".

That was back in June of this year, at a banquet in Yangcheng.

At that time, Zong Shijie was taken there by his father.

My father, who is usually a boss and bossy, was all smiles and very easygoing at the dinner party, completely unlike his usual aloof self.

Zong Shijie was used to his father's sudden change of expression. He could even deduce the level of the occasion from the degree of his father's change of expression.

Judging from the extent of his father's change of expression that night, that banquet was the highest-level banquet that Zong Shijie had ever attended with his father.

It was at that banquet that Zong Shijie met the woman whom Shen Kang called "President Zhou".

At that time, Ms. Zhou arrived quite late. As soon as she entered, she was surrounded by everyone and became the center of attention at the banquet. Many people wanted to go over and talk to her.

The woman was already very beautiful, and the fact that she was surrounded by so many admirers made her even more dazzling, leaving a very deep impression on Zong Shijie.

The father also told Zong Shijie who the woman was.

"Her name is Zhou Man, the new general manager of Shengyuan Group's Qianlin branch. But that's not important. What's most important is that her name is Zhou Man."

"I heard that the CEO of Shengyuan Group has a son and a daughter, and this Zhou Man is the daughter."

"His sudden arrival in this remote place, Qianlin Province... suggests he may have lost a power struggle and been exiled."

The father was truly open and honest with his son, telling him everything.

At this point, Zong's father patted Zong Shijie on the shoulder, somewhat emotionally, "Luckily, I only have you as my son... Why the hell do I only have you as my son?...

Fortunately, he only had one son, which made him realize that his own children did not have to go through such a cruel struggle.

The reason why he was dissatisfied with having only one son was because his father was not entirely satisfied with Zong Shijie.

Zong Shijie was both amused and exasperated at the time.

After expressing his feelings, the father didn't forget to remind his son, "Although they might be losers, even if they are losers, they are not people we can afford to offend. If we have the chance to take you over to talk later, you must show them the utmost respect..."

Zong Shijie remembered it.

Unfortunately, too many people wanted to talk to Zhou Man.

Until Zhou Man left, neither the Zong family father nor his son were able to go up and speak.

Afterwards, Zong Shijie heard more from friends in the circle: some said that Zhou Man was exiled to Qianlin after losing the struggle, while others said that Zhou Man was sent to Qianlin to better advance her career. There were all sorts of rumors, but no one had any definite information.

Even Wei Minglun, the eldest son of Shuanglong Group and the most prominent second-generation rich kid in their circle, couldn't give any definite information.

Therefore, Zong Shijie still has a deep impression of Zhou Man.

Unexpectedly, he actually saw Zhou Man here? Moreover, judging from Zhou Man's interactions with Shen Kang and He Qiuzhu...

Zong Shijie even began to suspect that the two people might be Zhou Man's children. But then he thought about it, and it seemed unlikely.

One of these two people was surnamed Shen, and the other was surnamed He, while Zhou Man's surname was Zhou...

It's a bit messy.

It's quite mind-bending.

Think again.