Liang Rongrong was nearly furious - was she some kind of filthy thing that people needed to avoid?
Second Young Master Fu was typically a very gentlemanly person towards everyone.
This was the first time he had been so impolite, and he himself felt somewhat embarrassed.
He smiled apologetically at Liang Rongrong while moving even further away.
The smile on Liang Rongrong's face froze as she cursed even more viciously in her heart.
Second Young Master Fu knew the direction to the Shi family villa. It was obvious that Shi Quan, who was leading the way, wasn't heading towards the Shi family villa, nor was he walking towards the exit of the villa district.
Confused, he decided to ask directly, "Aren't we going to your house? We should at least pay New Year's respects to your grandmother, uncle, and aunt first."
Shi Quan gave him a helpless look, "I'm taking them to visit neighboring houses for New Year greetings. If you're in a hurry to see my grandmother and parents, you know the way - you can go by yourself."
Second Young Master Fu declined. Although he was naturally sociable and very familiar with the Shi family elders, he preferred spending time with friends rather than interacting with classmates' elders alone.
"I'll join you all for the New Year visits then."
He couldn't keep quiet, "Why aren't you visiting with your parents? Did you all wake up late? Have uncle and aunt already finished their visits and returned home?"
Shi Quan gave Fu Zhanyang another helpless look, "No, your imagination is running wild - you should become a screenwriter. We have guests at home, and my parents and aunt and uncle are busy entertaining them. Since we young ones had nothing to do at home, we decided to go out for New Year visits."
Second Young Master Fu nodded with an enlightened expression.
With some distance still to go before reaching the next neighbor's house, Second Young Master Fu turned his attention to Feng Yunhe, who was closest to him.
He very sociably struck up a conversation with Feng Yunhe, "I heard Chairman Feng was in a car accident recently and had some health issues. How is his recovery going? As juniors, we should pay him a visit."
Feng Yunhe replied in a very flat tone, "His head has recovered."
Second Young Master Fu nodded, "That's good, that's good."
Then Feng Yunhe continued, "However, he injured his lower body recently in a fall and now needs a wheelchair to get around."
His tone showed no sadness, completely calm, as if discussing someone irrelevant - like a doctor announcing a patient's condition.
Fu Zhanyang let out a surprised "Ah!" He found it quite incredible - with that tone, he had thought Feng's father was mostly recovered, but it turned out he was now disabled.
Then he found it somewhat amusing - the injuries from the car accident hadn't fully healed, and now there were new injuries. How unlucky could someone be?
He wasn't the type to hide his emotions, with his feelings always clearly written on his face. Right now, his face plainly showed schadenfreude that he couldn't conceal.
Fortunately, Feng Yunhe had little emotional connection with his father, so whether others showed schadenfreude or found it amusing, he had no emotional reaction.
While Second Young Master Fu's face showed schadenfreude, his words remained tactful, "Oh? How is Chairman Feng's health now? He's getting on in years after all and needs to take good care of himself. If he doesn't pay attention now, what will happen when he's older?"
Having seen Feng's father not long ago, Shi Li thought he must be having a relatively comfortable time lately - not having to work, just eating and sleeping all day, which was much better than working 007.
Being a patient, he was served nutritious meals - where else could you find such a life?
One's face doesn't lie about whether life is good or not.
Feng Yunhe said, "He's doing quite well now, but I'll pass on your advice to him about taking care of his health and recovering well."
The next house to visit was also familiar - the home of Feng Yunhe's childhood friend, Zuo Hengyi.
The Feng and Zuo families were neighbors, and since Feng Yunhe and Zuo Hengyi were the same age and got along well, they naturally became childhood friends and good buddies.
The two families had a good relationship, so the Zuo family was already on Feng Yunhe's New Year visiting list.
This explained why Feng's mother had asked Feng Yunhe to join Shi Quan for New Year visits - many of their social circles overlapped.
The group was led into the living room by the butler, where Zuo's Father sat waiting for New Year visitors.
Zuo Hengyi wasn't in the living room; no one knew where he had gone.
Seeing this large group of young people, Zuo's Father was somewhat confused - when had these children from different families become so close?
Had their relationships really reached such a level that they even made New Year visits together?
He remembered that the Fu family villa was quite far from their house, halfway across Blue City, yet the Fu children had come all this way to wish him Happy New Year. Was this because of the close relationship between the children, or did the Fu family want to build a closer relationship with him?
Various thoughts swirled through his mind as he pondered these possibilities.
While smiling and responding to the New Year greetings from these young people, Zuo's Father asked the household staff to call Zuo Hengyi down from upstairs.
As the servant went upstairs as instructed, Zuo's Father pushed the fruit plate on the coffee table towards the group.
"I don't know what Zuo Hengyi is busy with upstairs. He never likes going out, always cooped up at home."
Although he was lecherous, selfish, and harsh, he had a face that appeared kind and merciful - anyone judging by appearance would think he was a good boss.
In reality, his wickedness was beyond description.
When Zuo Hengyi heard from the butler that Feng Yunhe had come to pay New Year respects, he rushed downstairs.
However, upon seeing the people seated on the sofa, Zuo Hengyi fell silent.
The butler had only mentioned Feng Yunhe's visit, why hadn't he been told that Shi Li was coming too?
It wasn't that he had anything against Shi Li - on the contrary, he needed to get information through her. He wouldn't dare have any objections to Shi Li even if he had a hundred times more courage.
He just didn't want Shi Li to appear with classmates other than Rongrong and Fu Huixing in front of him. He feared that seeing him might remind Shi Li of his family's troubles, and if she mentioned anything casually, their family would become notorious within their social circle.
Zuo Hengyi's initially excited steps halted the moment he saw Shi Li.
He wondered if it was too late to leave now.
Would it be reasonable to say he had diarrhea and needed to use the bathroom?
Seeing his younger son, Zuo's Father waved him over, "Why are you dawdling? Come here quickly."
"Alright."
Zuo Hengyi sat on the edge of the sofa, trying to convince himself that these people were just here for New Year greetings and would leave soon. Besides, Shi Li wasn't the type to let her imagination run wild, she might not think about that incident.
Zuo Hengyi sat down, hoping these people would leave quickly.
Then, at this moment, Madam Zuo appeared as the lady of the house.
She enthusiastically poured tea for everyone.
She was around the same age as Shi Quan and Shi Ruan, and should have been called "sister," but since she was Zuo's Father's wife, they had to address her as "Aunt" according to their relative positions.
While everyone else naturally called her "Aunt," Zuo Hengyi looked like he was about to suffocate.
The person he hoped wouldn't appear had shown up at this exact moment.
It was now ten in the morning, still some time before lunch, but the kitchen needed to start preparing meals.
The chef awkwardly asked the butler how many people to prepare lunch for, wondering if the guests would stay.
Having worked with Zuo's Father for many years, the butler's single glance was enough for Zuo's Father to understand his meaning.
He hospitably invited, "Please stay for lunch, it's more lively with more people."
Before anyone could politely decline, he instructed the butler, "Tell the kitchen to add a few more settings, but don't prepare the eldest young master's portion - he's visiting his girlfriend's family for New Year and probably won't be back for lunch."
That name that shouldn't have been mentioned was brought up, making Zuo Hengyi very uneasy.
He suddenly remembered something - his brother's girlfriend also had intricate connections with the Shi family.
Did Shi Li know about this? Would Shi Li, knowing this, bring up their family's grand stepmother drama at this moment?
