"There's no such thing as a truly bad parent in this world. In fact, you're quite fortunate. At least your parents adore you and probably never had the heart to beat or scold you," Yi Anguo continued to persuade.

"When I was a child, I was rather naughty. Even though I was their only son, my father never spoiled me. The slightest mistake or disobedience would earn me either a beating or a scolding."

"My father wasn't very educated and believed that filial piety comes from the rod. So when he hit me, he really didn't hold back. He'd beat me as if he wanted to kill me. When his temper flared, his fists would fly right at my head."

"But now that he's old, I still have to be filial to him, don't I? Should I hold a grudge and neglect him in his old age because of what happened?"

"Your father really hit you on the head with his fists when you were a child? Wasn't he afraid of giving you brain damage?" Zhou Mengdie asked.

"He was in a blind rage; he couldn't think about that. He probably never even considered it," Yi Anguo said with a wry smile.

"You really had it tough back then! My parents never hit me, because I was well-behaved, sensible, and obedient!" Zhou Mengdie said.

"They just always wanted me to be this way or that way, telling me I couldn't do this and couldn't do that. I had to follow all their plans."

"If I disobeyed in the slightest, they would lecture me this way and that, buzzing in my ear endlessly like Tangseng chanting his scriptures."

"To avoid their nagging, I tried my best to be the person they wanted me to be."

The two of them shared many naughty childhood stories and drank several more bottles of beer. Once the stash in the fridge was gone, Yi Anguo decided to call someone to take Zhou Mengdie home.

"Boss! Are you really sending me home? Don't you want me to stay?" Zhou Mengdie asked, her reluctance clear.

"Why would I have you stay? I'm afraid your parents will call the police. If they show up here, I'll be in trouble," Yi Anguo replied.

Yi Anguo had Yang Hai drive them to take Zhou Mengdie home.

Zhou Mengdie was silent the entire ride. When she got out of the car at her front door, however, she suddenly threw her arms around Yi Anguo and kissed him, eagerly yet clumsily.

At that moment, Yi Anguo found he had no choice but to respond, gently guiding her and showing her how to move.

Although the kiss was a bit long, it eventually came to an end. Zhou Mengdie stepped out of the car, waved at Yi Anguo with a sweet smile, and said, "Goodbye! Thank you!"

"Thank me for what?" Yi Anguo asked, still a little slow to react.

"Thank you for letting me taste my first kiss," Zhou Mengdie leaned in closer, ducking her head into the car to whisper to him.

Yi Anguo felt a powerful urge to pull her back into the car and drive away with her. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Zhou Mengdie and kissed her fiercely. After letting her go, he whispered in her ear.

"I didn't realize you were hiding all that. You're surprisingly well-endowed."

"You're so bad! I'm going home!" Zhou Mengdie exclaimed with a bashful pout.

After watching Zhou Mengdie go into the house, Yi Anguo finally told Yang Hai to drive away.

Now, Yi Anguo was in no mood to care about the international crude oil futures market. Zhou Mengdie had lit a fire in him, but she had only started it, not put it out. Now, Yi Anguo desperately needed to find someone who could.

He had Yang Hai drop him off at Phase Three of Blue Coast, Hu Jing's residence. Without wasting a moment, Yi Anguo headed straight for the master bedroom.

In the dim light, Yi Anguo could see that Hu Jing was already asleep in bed. He didn't turn on the lights as he got into bed and embraced her from behind.

...

"Ouch!"

"Brother-in-law, be gentle!"

A jolt went through Yi Anguo, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"You're Hu Qian! Why are you sleeping here? Aren't you supposed to be at school?" Yi Anguo asked.

"Can't I come home for a visit?" Hu Qian said, clinging to him.

"But you shouldn't be sleeping here. You have your own room. If you're here, where's your sister?" Yi Anguo said.

"I don't know! My sister and I were chatting in bed, and then I fell asleep. I don't know where she went," Hu Qian replied. "She's probably in the room I usually sleep in, or maybe the children's room!"

Yi Anguo tried to get up but found himself held tightly by Hu Qian.

"What are you doing? Let go, quick! It'll be trouble if your sister finds out!" Yi Anguo said urgently.

"So what if she finds out? I'm already your woman. Do you really think if you leave now, I'll still be a virgin?"

She has a point, Yi Anguo thought. It's too late to back out now anyway.

...

Afterward, Yi Anguo took a shower and found Hu Jing in the twins' room. She had obviously been crying; it was clear she already knew what had happened.

"I'm sorry! I thought it was you..." Yi Anguo said, embarrassed.

"I know! It's not your fault. It was Xiaoqian who insisted on being with you. If it hadn't happened this time, it would have happened the next," Hu Jing said.

"Tonight was her first time. You should stay with her tonight.

"And don't overthink it. Xiaoqian already told me she wants to be with you. She doesn't want to leave us, and she definitely doesn't want to marry another man.

"I tried to persuade her many times, but she was determined.

"I know you were only reluctant to accept her because you were worried about my feelings, but I honestly don't blame you.

"Since she wants to be with us, then let her be with us. As long as she doesn't regret it later."

...

Yi Anguo had never expected things to turn out this way, but since it had already happened, all he could do was accept it.

If he had to blame someone, it would be his little assistant. She shouldn't have lit his fuse; otherwise, none of this would have happened.

The next morning, everyone noticed that Assistant Zhou arrived at work looking radiant and smiling. A few colleagues who knew her well couldn't help but tease her.

"Assistant Zhou! You seem to be in a great mood today! Any good news?"

"Sister Tan, I'm always in a good mood! You can have a good day or a bad day, so why not choose to have a good one?" Zhou Mengdie responded cheerfully.

"No, that's not it," the colleague known as Sister Tan said, shaking her head. "You always come to work with a smile, but your glow today is different from usual. You definitely ran into some great news."

"Is that so? You can tell? Then tell me, what great news did I run into?" Zhou Mengdie asked with a smile.

"How would I know? Don't tell me you found a boyfriend? Finally met someone special?" Sister Tan joked.

"Of course not! It's too early for that!" Zhou Mengdie said with a chuckle.

Is it that obvious? she wondered. Sister Tan saw it at a glance and even guessed so accurately.

Just then, Chen Xuejiao arrived for work. Overhearing a bit of the conversation, she chimed in with a laugh, "Assistant Zhou found a boyfriend? When do we get the wedding candy?"

"Good morning, Assistant Chen! It's not like that, don't listen to Sister Tan. She's just guessing wildly," Zhou Mengdie quickly explained. "Assistant Chen, have you studied in the United States before? Is it safe over there?"

"I did study abroad in the States. As for whether it's safe, that's hard to say. I think it's pretty safe, though," Chen Xuejiao replied.

"Really? But the news is always reporting frequent shootings in the United States, right? And people with guns rushing into schools and firing at students," Zhou Mengdie said.

"Things like that only happen occasionally. They're rare, isolated incidents. It's like winning the lottery—highly unlikely to happen to you," Chen Xuejiao explained.

"Oh, so that's how it is! I knew it! The boss was deliberately trying to scare me. He told me the US is chaotic and unsafe, with shootings all the time," Zhou Mengdie said, gritting her teeth in frustration.

The two walked into the office as they chatted.

"Why would the boss scare you? Are you thinking of going to the US?" Chen Xuejiao asked curiously.

"No, I was just asking casually, and he started scaring me about how unsafe the US is."

Zhou Mengdie couldn't bring herself to admit she was envious of Chen Xuejiao for being so highly valued by the boss from the very beginning.

Yi Anguo arrived at the office later than usual that day. But with Ding Jing at the company during the day, it hardly mattered when he got in. In fact, it would be fine even if he didn't show up at all.

He was the boss, after all; no one could tell him what to do. The worst that could happen was that he'd earn a little less money.

In reality, it didn't affect his earnings at all. He could simply communicate with Ding Jing to stay updated and manage things remotely.

As soon as Yi Anguo entered his office, Zhou Mengdie brought him a freshly brewed cup of green tea.

"After you went home last night, did your parents give you any trouble?" Yi Anguo asked his young assistant.

"No, they just asked how much I drank and if I was drunk," Zhou Mengdie said.

"Then they asked who brought me home, and whether it was a man or a woman."

"And what did you tell them?" Yi Anguo asked, taking a sip of the hot tea.

"I said it was a man. My future boyfriend," Zhou Mengdie said with a sly smile.

Yi Anguo, who was taking a second sip, sputtered at her words. Tea sprayed from his mouth and nose, and he began coughing violently.

"Why would you say that? Are you nuts? Won't that just make your parents angry?" Yi Anguo said in frustration.

"Who understands my parents better, you or me?" Zhou Mengdie retorted.

"The more direct I am about it, the more reassured they are."

"If I were secretive about it, they wouldn't believe me and would just get suspicious. It's not out of the question that they'd hire a private detective to investigate me."

Hearing this, Yi Anguo felt she had a point and nodded in agreement.

"Boss! Did you go back to the company last night, or somewhere else? You don't look like you went back to the office," Zhou Mengdie asked.

"Where I went is none of your business," Yi Anguo replied irritably.

"Yesterday, you said you had something for me to do. Isn't it time to make good on that promise?" Zhou Mengdie pressed.

Yi Anguo thought for a moment, then nodded. "You know of Penguin Company, right?"

"Of course! It's the most famous internet company in Shenzhen. Hundreds of millions of people across the country use their Penguin social media software," Zhou Mengdie answered.

"I have a simple task for you. Go find the founder of Penguin Company and talk to him about an investment. The more we invest, the better. The more shares we get, the better," Yi Anguo said with a smile.

"You want to invest in Penguin Company? But isn't the company already public? Besides, you've already bought a lot of their shares!" Zhou Mengdie asked, confused.

"I have bought a lot of their shares, yes. And even though Penguin Company is public, you can still continue to invest through things like a capital increase or share expansion," Yi Anguo explained.

"Besides, with the current financial crisis, their stock price has plummeted. This gives you a great opportunity to negotiate."

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