Within minutes, Fu Ying entered the living room with an elderly man in white arms. He was at least ninety years old and had a completely white beard.
Zhou Xuan quickly stood up, realizing that the old man was Fu Ying's great-great-grandfather, Fu Yuhai.
As soon as Fu Yuhai arrived, everyone in the living room stood up. Fu Tianlai and Fu Ying helped him to a seat, and then Fu Tianlai sat down next to him.
Fu Ying then pulled Zhou Xuan to Fu Yuhai and said, "Zhou Xuan, this is my great-grandfather. He's exactly one hundred years old this year. Quickly call him 'Grandfather'!"
Zhou Xuan obediently replied, "Grandpa!"
Fu Yuhai stared at Zhou Xuan for a moment before asking, "What's your name?" Zhou Xuan raised his voice slightly, "Grandpa. My name is Zhou Xuan. Zhou as in Zhou, Wu, Zheng, and Wang, and Xuan as in propaganda. I am Chinese!"
Fu Yuhai nodded slightly and said, "Chinese? That's good. If Yingying finds a foreigner, this old man will chase him away with my cane!"
Fu Ying blushed and said reproachfully, "Grandma, I'm not going to date any foreign devils!"
"Come here, come closer, let me see!" Fu Yuhai stretched out his hand to Zhou Xuan, who called him, but hadn't responded yet.
Zhou Xuan stepped forward, and Fu Yuhai took his hand and looked at him. Zhou Xuan's icy aura naturally rushed into his body.
Fu Yuhai's body had aged to its limit. His advanced age was undeniable; Fu Tianlai had strictly forbidden anyone from revealing the kidnapping to the old man. At his age, even the slightest mishap could be fatal, let alone the kidnapping of Fu Lian and his wife. If the old man found out, a moment's agitation could be fatal.
The whole family was present, and Fu Yuhai was overjoyed. Although he looked at Zhou Xuan with a stern face, he was secretly delighted. It seemed that Fu Ying herself was extremely pleased, and her son, Fu Tianlai, also appeared to be all smiles. It was rare for the whole family to agree to this. He was merely putting on an act to scare Zhou Xuan.
No one around said a word. Fu Yuhai stared at Zhou Xuan for a long time before Fu Ying finally couldn't hold back and scolded, "Grandma, what are you doing? You're going to scare him!"
Seeing that Fu Ying was losing her composure and revealing her girlish side, Fu Yuhai smiled and said, "Alright, if Yingying doesn't want to scare him, then we won't. You call Zhou..."
Zhou Xuan quickly repeated, "Grandpa, my name is Zhou Xuan, Zhou Xuan!"
"Yes, Zhou Xuan!" Fu Yuhai nodded and said, "I've got it. Since he's our Fu family's son-in-law, he should follow the Fu family's rules. Perfect. Most of you are here. Goodbye!"
Zhou Xuan paused, then looked at Fu Ying. He saw Fu Ying blushing and fidgeting, then glanced at the crowd in the hall, wondering how Fu Yuhai wanted him to bow.
Fu Tianlai chuckled and said, "Silly boy, aren't you going to formally pay your respects to your great-grandfather, grandfather, father-in-law, and mother-in-law?"
Zhou Xuan scratched his head. Rich families certainly have many rules. But no matter how unwilling he was, this hurdle was unavoidable. Back in his hometown, there were countless rules for getting married. The first time, the woman's family would visit his family; if they agreed, he'd have to pay a visit to her home. Then came the engagement, the meeting of both sets of parents, and all sorts of other complicated customs. Getting a wife not only cost money, but it was also unavoidably tiring!
Although Zhou Xuan disliked trouble, he wasn't a cynical person. There were some rules he had to follow. He smiled slightly and said, "Let's bow then." But he figured that for a wealthy family like theirs, the rules were even more elaborate. He didn't know exactly how elaborate they were, so he simply knelt down and kowtowed three times to Fu Yuhai, then called out, "Grandfather!"
This time, Fu Yuhai responded readily: "Hey, good boy, get up!"
When Zhou Xuan stood up, he realized that Fu Ying had also knelt down and kowtowed with him. Although she was blushing and shy, she performed this grand ceremony with Zhou Xuan.
Fu Yuhai reached into his pocket, pulled out a bank card, and handed it to Zhou Xuan with a smile, saying, "Grandma, here's some pocket money for you!"
Zhou Xuan hesitated, unsure whether he should refuse the old man's money. Just as he hesitated, Fu Ying reached out and took it, smiling and saying, "Thank you, Grandmother!"
Since Fu Ying accepted it, Zhou Xuan didn't say anything more. It was just a small token of the old lady's affection; she probably intended for her to use it to buy some clothes or good food.
Fu Ying then gently tugged at Zhou Xuan's sleeve, pulling him to kneel down in front of Fu Tianlai.
Zhou Xuan then realized that this rule applied not only to Fu Yuhai, the eldest patriarch, but to all the elders of the Fu family!
There was nothing more to say, and no one else could do it for them, so they simply bowed down again. Fu Ying also kowtowed three times, and then they both called out, "Grandpa!"
Fu Tianlai responded loudly, "Hey, get up, everyone!" He then took a bank card from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Take this and buy some good food for Yingying!"
Judging from his tone, Zhou Xuan figured it wasn't much money, so he was relieved. Fu Ying accepted it with a smile and said, "Thank you, Grandpa!"
He then went to Fu Huan and Yang Jie, kowtowed three times, hesitated for a moment, and then called out, "Father-in-law and Mother-in-law!"
Fu Sun wasn't very old, only in his early forties. Hearing Zhou Xuan's way of addressing her, he smiled and said, "Never mind, that makes both my mother and Yingying's mother sound old. From now on, just call her the same as Yingying!"
Fu Ying stuck out her tongue and said with a grin, "Dad, Mom!"
Zhou Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Calling other people "Mom and Dad" was indeed a little awkward, but they had practically given him their daughter they raised, and even spent a lot of money on it, so how could he not call them that?
Zhou Xuan lowered his head and respectfully called out, "Dad, Mom!"
Fu Sun and Yang Jie both responded, each taking one and reaching out to pull...
Fu Sun sighed. His daughter, who had always been a doting mother to him since she was little, had grown up in the blink of an eye and was about to become someone else's family!
Yang Jie held her daughter's hand; although she was still radiant, she was clearly much thinner than before.
Fu Ying reached out to Fu Sun and Yang Jie and said, "Dad, Mom, Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandpa all give me pocket money, why don't you give me any?" Then she frowned and pouted, "Are you even my biological parents? I'm starting to wonder if you adopted me!"
Fu Ying's teasing remark immediately made everyone in the hall laugh.
Fu Jie reached out and tapped Fu Ying on the head, scolding, "You little brat, you're obsessed with money! No wonder Grandpa didn't leave you a single penny!"
Yang Jie saw that although her daughter was joking around to lighten the mood, her eyes remained fixed on Zhou Xuan, protecting him at every turn. She was afraid he might suffer even the slightest grievance, and Yang Jie's heart ached. This was nothing like her proud daughter.
Her pretty face had become quite thin, and a faint sorrow filled her eyes! Seeing her daughter like this, Yang Jie couldn't help but cry.
Fu Ying asked in surprise, "Mom, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly crying?"
Yang Jie sobbed and said, "Mom is afraid you'll suffer, Mom can't bear to part with you!"
Fu Ying smiled and wiped away Yang Jie's tears, saying, "Mom, I won't suffer. Besides, I'm not leaving you. I'll always be your daughter, no matter where I go!"
Zhou Xuan then became quick-witted. He quickly said, "Mom, don't worry, I won't let Yingying suffer. No matter where we are, as long as you want to see Yingying, I will bring her with me to see you!"
"Alright, it's such a good day, why are you crying!" Fu Yuhai said with a smile. "You should be happy. Um, Zhou Xuan, do you know how to play chess?"
Zhou Xuan was taken aback and asked, "What kind of chess?"
But then Fu Tianlai, Fu Meng, and Li Junjie all got up under some pretext and left, saying they had something to do.