Zhu Shunyao’s anger cooled down considerably. He wouldn’t go against his daughter’s wishes, so he joined the discussion at the table. He glanced at the guest list the mother and daughters had drafted. Seeing the names of Zhu Enfu and his group, he frowned again.
“Why invite them? Let’s not. We don’t care if they come or not.”
Seeing her father like this, Zhu Yanyi felt speechless. “Dad, stop acting crazy. Let’s keep things separate. They are relatives and friends. Even if they weren’t, they are still clan members. It’s normal to invite them to eat. Don’t act like a child.”
“Exactly.” Xie Xinlian shot Zhu Shunyao a sideways glance. Although she had been angry at first, Zhu Yanyi’s words made her filed it away without dwelling. “You’re grown up, yet you still need your daughter to worry about your affairs. Are you not ashamed? Besides, if you are angry, it means you care about them. It’s better to just ignore them. Invite guests when you should, accept gifts when you should, and treat them like ordinary people. We don’t rely on the First Branch anyway. You can show the dignity of the head of the Third Branch. Be generous and straightforward. That will silence them.”
Hearing Xie Xinlian’s words, Zhu Yanyi and Zhu Yanli both gave their mother a thumbs-up.
Zhu Shunyao felt wronged. He had done this because he loved his daughter. But hearing his wife’s artistic reasoning, he saw the logic. If you care, you get angry. If you don’t care, they can’t bother you. Reluctantly, he said, “Fine. I’ll reluctantly let them come. But their table won’t get the good food.”
“Hah. Are you going to make every table’s dishes different?” Zhu Yanyi sneered. Her father’s personality was sometimes truly childish. When provoked, she acted willfully.
“Then I won’t sit at the same table as them,” Zhu Shunyao continued. He was just being willful.
“That’s possible,” Zhu Yanli spoke up. She exchanged glances with Xie Xinlian and Zhu Yanyi. Then, the three of them laughed. Zhu Shunyao puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction. “I’m serious.”
“Serious, serious. We know you’re serious. Okay, good boy.” Xie Xinlian patted Zhu Shunyao’s back soothingly, as if comforting him. Zhu Shunyao was instantly speechless.
Just then, Yan Aohan returned with Zhu Zhibin from outside. After learning about the Zhu family in Zhu City, he looked slightly surprised. “The Zhu family in Zhu City is a decent clan. I know some things. They have many talents in various fields. However, the Zhu family is very low-key. Very few people are famous.”
“Famous or not has nothing to do with us,” Zhu Shunyao said from the side. “I just hope they don’t try to take advantage of our Ani.”
Yan Aohan smiled slightly. “Don’t worry, Uncle Shunyao. Even if they try to take advantage of Ani, it will be difficult. Ani is registered with the Big Boss. No matter how prosperous a family is, it cannot represent a country. To survive, they must look at the face of the country’s leader. Just wait. In a few years, they will only hold Ani in high regard and dare not try to take advantage of her.”
Hearing Yan Aohan’s words, Zhu Shunyao felt much more relieved. “Fortunately, Ani is going to the capital. Wait.” As he spoke, Zhu Shunyao thought of something. He looked only at Yan Aohan. “You said Ani is registered with the Big Boss?”